This invention relates to injection molding and more particularly to an improved injection molding nozzle having an integral electrical heating element wherein the forward end of the heating element is brazed into the nose portion to ground it and heat the forward end of the nozzle.
Nozzles with integral heating elements are well known in the art. For example, the applicant's recent Canadian patent application Ser. No. 542,185 entitled "Coated Injection Molding Nozzle and Method" filed July 15, 1987 discloses a nozzle in which the forward end of the heating element extends into the nose portion. It is also known to provide injection molding probes having two heating elements, one of which is welded at the pointed tip to ground it. Examples of this are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,927 to Yoshida which issued May 14, 1985 and U.K. patient application No. 2,164,893A to Tsutsumi filed Aug. 25, 1985. While these previous probes are used to temperature gate the flow of melt, the fact that the melt flows around each probe between it and the surrounding cooled cavity plate necessitates the use of two heating elements so the main one can be energized continuously to avoid an unacceptable temperature drop in the melt. In the present invention, the melt flows through the heated nozzle and a single heating element can be used to heat both the central portion and the nose portion of the nozzle.